Liquid Chemical Explosives – What You Never Wanted to

Know
Dozens of alleged terrorists were recently arrested in Britain andPakistan, accused of plotting to
blow up as many as ten transatlanticairliners. Police report the terrorist plan was to blow up the
planes usingsuicide bombers armed with liquid chemical bombs smuggled on boarddisguised as
drinks.All explosives are chemical in nature. Explosives can be a simple physical mixture of an
oxidizer and an organic fuel. Many readers arefamiliar ANFO, a widely used solid commercial
explosive composed of ammonium nitrate (the oxidizer) and fuel oil (the organic fuel).
ANFOwas used in the 1995 attack on the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.According to Dan
Keenan, a certified Hazardous Materials Instructor for the California Specialized Training
Institute and developer of thehazmat technician training course "Fun With Chemistry,"
explosivesthat would be well suited for amateur manufacture is TriacetoneTriperoxide –
commonly referred to as TATP. TATP can be preparedusing commercially available materials
obtained from hardware anddrug stores: acetone (nail polish remover), hydrogen peroxide
(a bleaching and cleaning agent) and sulfuric acid. TATP has been used bysuicide bombers in the
Middle East, and was also used as an improviseddetonator by the infamour "shoe bomber"
Richard Reid in his failedattempt to blow up an airplane in December, 2001.Keenan explains that
nitrated compounds could also be used to create ahomemade explosive. One example would
involve taking the commonemollient, glycerin, and adding it to a mixture of concentrated nitric
andsulfuric acids creating nitroglycerine, a liquid explosive well suited for aterrorist’s
aims.Another possibility, Keenan reports, is the use of antifreeze (ethyleneglycol), which when
added to a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acid wouldcreate an explosive liquid compound called
ethylene glycol dinitrate.Similarly, an ingredient in toothpaste, propylene glycol, becomes
deadlywhen added to a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acidscreating the liquid
explosive called metriol trinitrate, which is similar tonitroglycerine.Once the terrorists have the
explosive, Keenan says, they would stillneed a detonating agent. Terrorists could possibly
detonate thehomemade liquid explosives without the need for a blasting cap byintroducing a
simple electric circuit, employing a 9-volt battery or the battery pack from a laptop computer. A
toothpaste explosive could even be ignited by a match; but to insure complete detonation an
explosivetrain involving a primary explosive, or a booster like the TATPRelated Products
mentioned above would be needed.
Prime location
In order for an explosion of one of these compounds to succeed intaking down an airplane,
Keenan thinks, it would have to take place near the skin of the airplane; in other words, right
next to the side, and preferably the window – close enough to blow a hole in the side or to blow
out the window. The first reported act of sabotage against anairplane took place in 1933 over
Chesterton, Indiana and involved anitroglycerine bomb planted in the tail assembly of a Boeing
247 anddetonated by a timing device. The 10 people aboard were all killed.How much of the
explosive compound would be needed to blow a holein an airplane? Keenan believes that about
eight ounces would beadequate. Richard Reid had eight ounces of TATP in his shoe,
which probably could have blown out the side of the plane, or at least awindow.In Keenan’s
opinion, it would be difficult to bring down an airplanewith this type of explosive in checked
luggage because of the location of the baggage compartment. A terrorist would need a lot more
product toeffect an explosion that would be large enough to guarantee a hole in theaircraft, and
would have no guarantee when or where – or if – theexplosion would take place.
"Mother of Satan"
TATP is one of the most sensitive explosives known, susceptible toimpact, temperature change,
and friction. For this reason, it has beencalled the "Mother of Satan." This characteristic is what
makes TATPintriguing to terrorists, but at the same time causes it to be exceedinglydifficult to
work with.Although officials have declined to discuss the technology planned for the thwarted
plot, one scenario is that multiple terrorists would board a plane, each armed with one element of
a bomb, which by itself would beinnocuous. During the flight, the terrorists would manage to
gather the products, mix them together to cause a volatile product, and detonatethat mix using an
electronic device. Keenan questions the validity of thisscenario. "I seriously doubt that any of
these compounds could actually be successfully synthesized on an aircraft. The concentrated
acidsrequired, the time and temperature control involved, make that scenariohighly unlikely."
Detecting chemical explosives
There are a few technologies out there that can detect liquid chemicalexplosives. The primary
one in use is ion mobility spectrometry (IMS).IMS is based on the principle that when differently
charged molecules(ions) are acceleterated through an electric field, they will travel at
different speeds and reach a detector at different times. At airports, IMSmay be implemented in
different ways to look for trace amounts of explosive compounds. In one system, a person would
walk into achamber where puffs of air are blown at him or her. The air is thenanalyzed for trace
ions of explosives. A different system has agentsusing a swab to sample a person’s hands and
carry-on luggage. Theswab is tested in a machine where it is heated to create vapors that
areionized. The ions are pulled into a machine where they are measured for trace ions of
explosives. While this technology is designed to detectfinished explosives it is questionable
whether it would identify the pre-cursors suggested by this plot.Another technology known as
Raman spectroscopy illuminates thesubstance with an extremely bright invisible laser light,
exciting some of the molecules and causing characteristic wavelength-shift in laser lightscattered
from the molecules. The scattered light is specific to eachmolecular type, and thus serves as a
unique fingerprint of the mixtureand blend of material being tested. One manufacturer, Ahura
Corp.,manufactures Raman-based equipment that is portable, can identifyliquids and solids in
their containers and is increasingly being used inthe field by first responders.
Be vigilant, be suspicious
When asked what security officials need to know about chemicalexplosives, Keenan was
thoughtful. "I have to say that it is important for security officials to rely less on technology, and
more on hunches andinstinct." He cautions against believing everything that is published,
andespecially against believing what is on the Internet. He points to the potential scenario that
has been widely published of terrorists mixingexplosives in the bathrooms of aircraft. "There is a
lot of falseinformation out there. Get your information from experts in theexplosives field."And
for security officials, emergency responders, and citizens alike, hehas this message: "I think the
message is ‘be ever vigilant. And if you’renot the person sitting next to the window, be
suspicious of the personwho is."
Dan Keenan has been a firefighter and HazMat responder for the Cityof Oakland (CA) Fire
Services Agency since 1991.He is certified byCSTI (California Specialized Training Institute) as
a HazardousMaterials Instructor. Dan felt a need to promote hazardous materialstraining with the
use of live chemical demonstrations, and this interest fueled the development of "Fun with
Chemistry," which he presents toemergency responders. Dan’s chemical demonstrations has
been featured in Emergency Film Group's Hazmat Operations," "Introduction to Hazardous
Chemicals," and "Fun With Chemistry."